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File Organization

Overview​

Properly formatting your files is the foundation of most other Verbatim features. If a macro isn't behaving like you expect, it's likely a mistake with file formatting.

Avoid manually applying formatting whenever possible. Instead, you should rely on the built-in shortcuts and macros to style your document, and make any customizations to those styles via the Verbatim Settings.

The core organization and formatting functions are all on the Organize section of the ribbon:

Organize

Heading Levels​

The most important part of formatting your files is proper use of heading levels to subdivide and organize your document. These headings are also what enable the use of Word’s Navigation Pane to see the contents of the file, like an index. This means that you should generally shy away from the use of “white space,” or blank lines in the Navigation Pane. Verbatim’s heading levels are designed to be modular and hierarchical – properly formatted, the Navigation Pane will let you condense or expand any section of the document you like.

Verbatim has four different levels of organization: Pocket, Hat, Block, and Tag. These are actually “aliases” for built-in Word Heading Levels 1-4, so:

  • Heading 1 – Pocket (default shortcut: F4)
  • Heading 2 – Hat (default shortcut: F5)
  • Heading 3 – Block (default shortcut: F6)
  • Heading 4 – Tag (default shortcut: F7)

Think of each discrete Word document as an expando/accordian file. With paper, each expando would contain one complete file or “argument.” Each pocket of the expando would then contain the large building blocks of that file, like “Uniqueness” or one class of 2AC blocks. Each pocket would then be further subdivided into groupings of similar blocks, potentially wrapped in a piece of paper with a label (a "hat"), then individual blocks which group together similar cards on one or more pages. Verbatim’s heading levels are designed to mimic this basic schema.

Some files are too short or lack the organizational complexity to necessitate using all four levels. In that case, the file can be constructed using exclusively Blocks and Tags, for example. Let the content dictate the structure. If Pockets or Hats clutter things up more than they help, don't use them for that file.

The Word Navigation Pane also makes it possible to “Drag and Drop” sections of your file, from individual cards to whole pockets. There are also built-in keyboard shortcuts to move a heading up or down in the document (Ctrl/Cmd + Alt + Up and Ctrl/Cmd + Alt + Down).